1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cable guide arrangement for a cable winch comprising a housing to be arranged fixedly in front of the cable winch and having a cable guide member for the cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cable guide arrangement is provided for the purpose of a defined guiding action of the cable that has been removed from the cable winch. The portion of the traction cable withdrawn from the winch apparatus and force-loaded by the cable winch exits through the cable guide arrangement, wherein the cable guide arrangement is arranged in a certain predetermined position relative to the cable winch.
Such a cable guide arrangement is known from German patent document GM 91 00 061. This known device is arranged in a fixed position in front of the cable winch. The housing of the cable guide arrangement is secured, for example, to a base plate on which the cable winch is supported. The cable guide arrangement is comprised of a roller pair supported on bolts arranged in the housing. The traction cable is guided between the two rollers.
It has been found repeatedly that the traction cable of prior art cable winches with cable guide arrangements experiences rapid wear during operation, in particular, when the cable is frequently pulled at a slant. Moreover, the cable frequently breaks at greater deflection angles of the cable relative to the winding direction onto the cable winch.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to further develop the cable guide arrangement of the aforementioned kind such that the operating costs for the cable winch are lowered and, in particular, the service life of the cable guided through the guide arrangement is increased even under slanted pulling conditions.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that the cable guide is embodied as a cable guide channel having a continuous circumferential wall which penetrates the housing and whose end portion facing away from the cable winch is formed as an inlet funnel.
When forming the cable guide as a continuous circumferential cable guide channel which penetrates the housing of the cable guide arrangement, the end portion of the cable guide channel facing away from the cable winch is formed as an inlet funnel which widens in the outward direction (relative to the housing interior) so that the cable guided in the cable guide channel passes through the cable guide arrangement with minimal cable friction in any possible deflection position relative to the longitudinal axis of the cable guide oriented toward the cable winch. The configuration of the inlet funnel with a funnel wall having a curvature that curves inwardly, i.e., toward the interior of the cable guide channel, in a way similar to the hyperbola of the flared bell of a trumpet, provides especially favorable inlet and guiding conditions with minimal stress on the loaded traction cable.
The inventive cable guide arrangement can be produced (and mounted) in a simple manner because it does not comprise any movable parts. The cable guide arrangement can be formed as a unitary part by providing the cable guide channel within the housing itself. According to an advantageous configuration of the cable guide arrangement, the cable guide channel is provided within an insert which can be detachably mounted in the housing. When taking into consideration the forces which act on the cable and the cable guide channel, especially onto the funnel wall, the insert can preferably be provided in the form of a wear component that can be manufactured inexpensively and exchanged, if needed, with minimal labor expenditure. Metal, wood, or plastic can be used expediently as the material for such an insert; however, any other suitable material can be used. When mounting the cable guide arrangement, the component halves forming the insert are combined while enclosing or surrounding the cable and are then inserted into the housing. The cable to be withdrawn from the cable winch has previously been threaded through the housing. The housing can also be of a divided (multi-part) construction in order to facilitate its mounting and also the threading of the cable through the housing.
The outer mantle surface of the insert is advantageously conically pointed in a direction away from the inlet funnel. The inner mantle of the housing is correspondingly conically shaped so that the insert is positive lockingly secured in the housing in the pulling direction of the cable winch.